It was a Love Supreme Friday on 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning, and hosts Paul B. and Buddy the God made good on that promise from the very first minute. After weeks of heavy political conversation surrounding the Nebraska primary, Paul B. set a new tone for the day. “We’ve been talking a lot of politics for a while and it’s time to change our mindsets,” he said. “It’s going to be Love Supreme Friday today.” The mood was warm, the conversation was deep, and by the end of the hour, the show had delivered something that felt less like a broadcast and more like a community gathering.
The political thread didn’t disappear entirely — it just got reframed. Paul B. shared a sobering note from Raquel Henderson of the mayor’s office: only 339,000 out of more than 1.2 million registered voters in Nebraska showed up for the previous day’s primary election. Viewer Sean McCarthy added context from the chat, noting that “the Douglas County Election Commissioner said the average primary voter turnout percentage was around 35% in Douglas County.” Paul B. didn’t mince words. “Posting on Facebook is not enough,” he said. “Awareness without action changes nothing.” Buddy the God echoed the urgency while expanding the lens: “We got to do both — build our own ecosystems and continue doing the political work. In the long run, we do got to figure this out as a nation, but for now, there are other things we got to figure out as far as how we can do for ourselves.”
That pivot toward self-sufficiency and community building set the stage perfectly for the morning’s featured guest: Dana Murray, executive director and founder of the North Omaha Music Academy (NMA), located on North 24th Street. A South Omaha native who spent eleven years in New York City before returning home, Murray has quietly been building something extraordinary — and Friday’s conversation gave Omaha a full look at just how big his vision really is.
NMA, formerly known as Love’s Jazz, is a youth music academy and performance venue, but Murray is quick to point out that music is only part of the story. Paul B. framed it with what he called the “secondary matrix” — the deeper purpose beneath the surface work. “Dana Murray teaches kids music on the surface,” Paul B. explained, “but the secondary matrix is to create critical thinkers.” Murray couldn’t have said it better himself. “We’re not only raising musicians but, more importantly, we’re raising more critical thinking human beings,” he said. “These young kids are not all going to become musicians by choice. Some will become doctors, some lawyers, some business owners. Whatever they choose to do, they’re going to be better because they were aligned with artistry.”
Beyond instrument lessons, NMA offers an impressive range of electives. Students learn live sound engineering, video production, and broadcasting. Murray has built a podcast and interview lab on-site — and the kids aren’t just watching. “It’s not just telling them ‘you can be this someday,'” Murray said. “No — you can be this right now. Once you remove those barriers, the sky’s the limit.” Viewer Senator KML summed it up simply in the chat: “Thank you, Uncle Dana. You’re changing lives in big ways. We are the students.”
Murray also spoke candidly about what NMA looks for when hiring instructors. Technical skill, he made clear, is the baseline — not the goal. “Unless you’re able to inspire a young person, they don’t really have the attention span for the X’s and O’s of music,” he said. “The why you’re doing it is everything, because they don’t need us for the what. They can go to YouTube and see anything we’re trying to teach them.” Music educators interested in joining the NMA team can reach Murray directly at dmurray@northomahamusic.org or his assistant Andrew Bailey at abailey@northomahamusic.org.
The conversation grew even larger when the hosts asked Murray about his vision for the North 24th Street corridor — “the Deuce,” as it’s known locally. Murray was precise and practical. He laid out the building blocks any thriving district needs: housing, services, parking, grocery access, transportation. And then destinations — restaurants, entertainment, lounges. “It would be great to have a hotel,” he said. “With a hotel, now you can throw larger attractions, music festivals, conferences right in the community.” Viewer Pops connected that vision to living memory, noting in the chat that “artists like Fats Domino used to stay at your grandfather’s home when he came to town to perform — so yes, more infrastructure for the artist around the Deuce corridor would be a godsend.”
Paul B. has long held this stretch of North Omaha close to his heart. “I’ve always called it the most important Black corner in Nebraska,” he said. “We have some history there and some legacy there, and that’s what it’s about. We have to be of service to it.” Murray agreed, and acknowledged that breaking down the perceived barriers around the area has been part of his work from the beginning. “People told me that was going to be very hard,” he said, “but people have no problem coming from wherever they are in Omaha or Iowa to come down and hear jazz music. That taboo about the area and its ability to be an attraction was false. We’ve proven that.”
As for what’s next, Murray is thinking big — a $20 million capital campaign, a full NMA campus, and a long-term role for the academy as an economic engine for North Omaha on par with what Omaha Performing Arts is for downtown. “Money is not our issue really in North Omaha,” he said. “It’s transformative ideas that are going to allow us to be not only sustainable but gainfully active.”
The show wrapped on a high note, with the hosts celebrating community wins including Charell Shelton’s $52,000 diagnostic lab prize and Omaha North High School’s nationally recognized engineering program. The chat was full of warmth all morning — viewer Aeros 402 (Mary Sanchez) shared that her daughter had just given birth to her second granddaughter, and viewer Judy Princ offered a quiet piece of wisdom: “If you are sad or angry, go out and help others. Your attitude will change.” On a Love Supreme Friday, that felt just right.
Tune in Monday morning for another edition of 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning — because this community always has something worth showing up for.
